Free At Last (part two)

In my last post, I told you that with the passage in Romans 14, I had found the freedom from what the church had been teaching, about doctors and wearing glasses, finally,  Once and for all.

It had been the Apostal Paul that had answered some of the questions, that Christians had been struggling with and so what did it mean for the early church of his day, and is it still relevant for us today?

In today's post, I am going to refer to another website that should help to make it clear for us. You can find that site here if you want to check it out for yourself:    What does Romans chapter 14 mean?

Well, let's see:

Romans 14 tackles an issue as relevant for the modern church as it was for Roman believers in Paul's era. Many decisions in the Christian life don't come with absolute, yes-or-no, one size fits all answers. On major issues, God's Word is clear. But on less important subjects, Christians might find it necessary to agree to disagree. How to live out that kind of unity is the focus of Paul's comments here.

For the Roman believers, this debate mostly concerned some of the rules and restrictions of the law of Moses. Those in Christ have been freed from following these rules but had doubts lingered. Is it right or wrong to now eat meat that might not be kosher according to the law? Is it right or wrong now to observe special days like Jewish festivals and the Sabbath?

Paul divides the church into two groups based on their response to these questions. There are those who are fully convinced that because of God's grace, they are now free in Christ to eat and drink anything. Nothing is unclean for them. Then there are believers comparatively "weak" in their faith who do not feel a clear conscience acting outside of those restrictions. They may think it's still wrong to eat non-kosher meat for instance. Romans 14:1-2

Though  Paul calls these concerned "weak in faith," he instructs those who are comparatively strong and free in the faith to welcome them. These less-assured Christians ought to be fully and completely accepted into the church, and not only so they can be only so they can be argued out of their convictions.  The picture Paul paints is of these two groups co-existing in unity and peace.

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Ok, so I did not consider the people and leaders of that church 'weak." That was me. Not only that but I had been totally confused as well. And though perhaps comparing the wearing of glasses to eating meat was 2 completely different things, to me that day, it was not all that different. And I should not have been treated the way I had no matter what. I sure hadn't felt any unity and peace so far as I was concerned. Not ever did I feel that way, the whole time I went there. So it didn't look like they were practicing what they believed exactly or they would have at least handled this in a different manner than they had.

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Hi Friends:

The above website I gave you has more to say about what Paul had meant on this subject. I will continue with some of it in the next post. In the meantime, have a wonderful and blessed day. 

Free At Last ( Part one)

 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth, not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he givet] God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not and giveth God thanks. Romans 14:1-6

Set Free!!!!

There it was. The passage that I had been looking for. The one that had set me free. I was at a critical time in my life. And though I had been saved at a very young age, I had pretty much turned away from God as I grew up. Even though I still believed in Him.  And so at this time, having gotten back to Him, my faith was pretty weak. It was verse 1, that really spoke to me because it was right where I was. And yet, the leaders of the church were tired of me evidentially, for not being the person they thought I should be. Maybe I tainted their church because of my sin. Maybe they hoped I would leave.

I didn't know. But I had left not long before this time and the sense of peace that come the day I had read this passage, was so worth it. 

For the first time, I was totally free! And ecstatic could not come close to how I felt that morning!

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It had been they that was wrong. And not me. They had no right to judge me. Especially having made no attempt to speak with me first about what they thought I was doing wrong.

To clarify what Paul was talking about in these verses, I will post a part two and go into that. So please come back next time for it. Thanks for coming by. God bless!

A Lesson For Me

 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Romans 12:14-15

I had to admit that it was pretty hard to bless those that had hurt me. "Really, Lord? Do I really have to do that?"

But yes, I did. I don't remember it as something I did right away. Sometimes it does take time to get over something that someone has done to hurt us. But it was necessary and it taught me that in this life, there would be many more times when I would have to do this very thing with other people and situations. 

It has been one of those things that God used to work together for me as it says in Romans 8:28.

I didn't have a whole lot at that point in my life to rejoice about. Life was hard. I had four children all under the age of 10, and an alcoholic husband. And I was holding on to my life by a thin string. At least that is how I felt.

It's hard to rejoice when going through the things I was at that time. And most of the people at church did not understand. Not that I talked about my life. It was too private. Too embarrassing. And so how could they understand?

Even though I didn't share my life with them, they knew there were problems. I was a fairly young mother, with 4 kids always with me, and my husband did not go. I don't know what my sister-who had originally got me going there, told anyone. She was in Florida and did have contact with a couple members. And though most may not have known the circumstances, there were a couple people that tried to encourage me in different ways. That wasn't exactly weeping as verse 15 says, but, it showed me that there were compassionate people there.

And the good thing about that was that it helped teach me to be compassionate with others women that found themselves in the same kind of boat as I had been, or any other kind of boat, for that matter.

God asks us to share his love to people and when the time came that He took the alcoholism out of our lives, I could reflect back and know just how good He was to me. Despite the hurt that had happened in my life.

And I am and will always be eternally grateful to His loving kindness!

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Hello, Friends. Thanks for stopping by. I apologize for not posting over the last couple of days. It had been a kind of tough weekend. But I thank you for coming by and pray God's blessing on you!

Did They Think More Highly of Themselves?

 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according to as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3

That leaders in a church could pass judgment on someone that did not follow their teachings to the letter, they must regard themselves more highly than they should. If you could weigh those teachings on a scale, which would be more important?

Wearing glasses/not practicing the teachings of not going to doctors/not celebrating holidays...on one side of the scale.

Salvation on the other side of it

What is more important? 

Ummm, let me think about that....I choose salvation as being more important.

Oh, not that the leaders did not preach salvation, but as I think about back to then, not once in any meeting (which was what we called them) did they ever give an altar call. 

How did they ever know if I had ever been saved? I don't know. No one ever asked me that question.

But here they wanted me to wear my glasses....it seems to me that they chose the other scale as being more important.

Even if they did not realize it.

To be sure, I did not know their hearts. I only knew mine. Well, Ok, Jeremiah says this about the heart:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

So sure, I could not know their hearts or where they were at with the Lord. And sometimes didn't even know my own.

But what I did know was that I had tried hard to follow this group and yet never felt really a part of them and didn't get to the place where they were on the teachings of healing etc.

And that hurt, the day I got called out on it in a meeting. 

But you know, I hadn't meant to be there in the first place and here I was now going through the book of Romans to discover what I truly believed. 

I was getting closer to the truth.

And the bottom line was not whether I could get to where everyone else was (or said they were) but was knowing that despite that, God had shed his blood for me. Nothing about those other teachings could be more important than that.

Not that they aren't, don't get me wrong. Because the bible does teach healing etc. But it does not teach it as a requirement for heaven. 

And wearing glasses? Humph. That whole thing had been just plain wrong.

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Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to spend a few moments with me, Friends. May God bless the rest of your day!

No Need For Glasses Here!

 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10

There it was again. Another passage to prove that needing glasses or anything else, apart from what it says here-is how we can know we will end up in heaven.

And again in verse 13:

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I had believed in Jesus that night in the car when my dad led me to the Lord at the age of 8. 

Awe, but some might say, that it was just a childish faith that didn't mean anything.

Well, that is just not true. It had meant to me that Jesus now lived in my heart and that child's faith has grown into what it is today.

Many times over the years, I  have called on the name of the Lord in times of stress and doubt. I am sure not above having those times in my life, for sure. 

But when I do, I know that no matter what it is, the answer is to call upon God who is my refuge and strength in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1

And no one could ever take that away from me. 

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Hello, Friends. Thanks for coming by today. I pray you will have a wonderful and blessed day!

All things Work Out

 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

To be honest with you, that verse really got to me when I read it during this time. I had heard all of these scripture passages for a long time in the different churches I had been in over the years. But this one was special because it reminded me that no matter what I was or would go through, good or bad, all things would work out for my good.

This situation was no different. I had believed that I had been called by God at the age of 8. God had proved that to me over and over down through the years. 

And look what verse 35 says in that chapter...

 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 Nothing and no one could separate me from Christ's love. Nothing. Not the leaders of any church. Not the fact that I wore glasses. The "distress" I was going through, was absurd if it was anything. 

But it was because I was letting it by listening to the wrong message. Surely not the message of the cross. It was coming from the message of a man that had decided that wearing glasses was unacceptable under his teaching. 

And the final 3 verses in that chapter made that  just as clear:

 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us I persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I had been learning a lot during this time spent with the Holy Spirit every morning. Was there more? I kept reading to find out.

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Hello Friends. Thanks for coming by today. I pray that you will have a wonderful day! God bless!

No Comdemnation?

 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

The day that I read this passage in light of what I had been going through, was....well...I was really getting it. That no matter what the leaders thought I had done wrong, and right or wrong, Jesus did not hold me in their condemnation at all. 

And that meant He held none for any sin I committed and confessed, no matter who thought otherwise.

Paul goes on to say this in verse 8:

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Leaders in the church were always teaching about 'the flesh.' One popular verse is in 2 Chronicles 32:8 which talks about God being our "arm of the flesh, which is our strength." And we are not to lean on our own flesh or any others, like doctors, etc. 

With good reason, they taught about it, because it is in the bible, but once again, they took it too far. Especially with doctors. Instead of taking a child to a doctor for a broken bone, or a hospital to give birth, they would 'believe' for healing, or, let a child die if it was in trouble, instead of using a medical procedure could save it. And perhaps, let a person go blind...Ummm. Just saying...

Going on down to verse 16 is this:

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us

If we are truly born again, the Holy Spirit joins with us to help us understand that we are God's children. I had known this from a very early age. I should have never doubted it. And yet, I had for a time.

Not only that, but we are joint-heirs with Jesus! And while we may suffer things on earth, they are nothing compared to the glory we will share in when we go to heaven!

I had learned much from these few scriptures about what I was going through at the time. My mind was truly beginning to accept that I had nothing to fear about where I would end up after death. Despite what others may be saying. 

And it was because the Holy Spirit was teaching me. Praise God!

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Thanks for visiting today, Friends. Take care and God bless you! Til next post....